{
  "id": 447887,
  "title": "UK manufacturers face rising hacking risk as survey shows 30% were hit last year",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/10/uk-manufacturers-face-rising-hacking-risk-as-survey-shows-30-were-hit-447887",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-10T05:00:36.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Guardian Business",
    "slug": "guardian-business",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/aug/10/uk-companies-cyber-attack-third-jlr"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The survey conducted by MakeUK, a lobby group for British manufacturers, reveals that nearly a third of manufacturers experienced a cyber-attack in the last year, leading to lost production time and increased costs. However, only half of these companies have a contingency plan to respond to such an attack. The risk of cyber-attacks has been on the rise, with hackers, often backed by hostile states, becoming more numerous and adept at penetrating company defenses. Large businesses describe being under near-constant attack from people trying to access their systems. The UK government has estimated that cybercrime costs the economy £14.7bn annually, and the emergence of generative AI systems has added urgency to upgrading defenses. The JLR attack in August last year, which forced the company to shut down systems across all its factories, offices, and retail operations, is cited as the most expensive cyber incident ever in Britain, costing at least £1.9bn due to lost output at JLR and its suppliers. Other notable attacks include those on two FTSE 100 manufacturers, IMI and Smiths Group, as well as on retail sector giants like Marks & Spencer, the Co-op, and Harrods. Industry experts emphasize that cybersecurity should be treated as a business-critical priority, with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) actively working to strengthen cyber defenses for organizations of all sizes.",
  "summary": "Big companies describe being under constant threat but only half have a plan in place to respond to an attack Nearly a third of British manufacturers have been hit by a cyber-attack on them or a company in their supply chain, according to a survey that highlighted the growing hacking risk to companies. The findings come almost a year after Britain’s largest automotive employer, JLR, was hit by an…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Guardian Technology",
        "title": "UK manufacturers face rising hacking risk as survey shows 30% were hit last year",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/10/uk-manufacturers-face-rising-hacking-risk-as-survey-shows-30-were-hit",
        "published": "2026-08-10T05:00:36.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}